Burger Thomas D, Shao Renfu, Labruna Marcelo B, Barker Stephen C
School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD 4072, Australia.
GeneCology Research Centre, Faculty of Science, Education and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Maroochydore DC, QLD 4556, Australia.
Ticks Tick Borne Dis. 2014 Mar;5(2):195-207. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2013.10.009. Epub 2013 Dec 27.
The genus-level classification of soft ticks (Argasidae) is controversial. A previous phylogenetic analysis of morphological and developmental characters found that the genus Ornithodoros was paraphyletic and raised a new genus, Carios, for species previously in the genera Antricola, Argas, Ornithodoros, and Nothoaspis (Klompen and Oliver, 1993). Genetic analyses of soft ticks to date have been limited to 16S rRNA, which is not highly phylogenetically informative for this group. We sequenced the entire mitochondrial genomes of 7 species of soft ticks, and the partial mitochondrial genomes of a further 5 species of soft ticks. We used these sequences to test the genus-level classification of soft ticks. Our analyses strongly support a clade of Neotropical species (mostly bat-associated) within the subfamily Ornithodorinae. This clade, which we call Neotropical Ornithodorinae, has species from 2 genera, Antricola and Nothoaspis, and 2 subgenera, Ornithodoros (Alectorobius) and Ornithodoros (Subparmatus). We also addressed the phylogenetic position of Ornithodoros savignyi, the type species of the genus Ornithodoros. Our analysis strongly supports a clade consisting of Ornithodoros savignyi and 4 other Ornithodoros species: Or. brasiliensis, Or. moubata, Or. porcinus, and Or. rostratus. This clade, Ornithodoros sensu stricto, did not contain the Alectorobius and Subparmatus species, Or. (Alectorobius) fonsecai, Or. (Alectorobius) capensis, and Or. (Subparmatus) marinkellei, which in traditional classification schemes have been placed in the genus Ornithodoros. Our comparison of mitochondrial rRNA, nuclear rRNA, and mitochondrial genome analyses show that only mitochondrial genome sequences have the potential to resolve the controversial phylogenetic relationships within the major soft tick lineages, such as the taxonomic status of Carios sensu Klompen and Oliver (1993).
软蜱（argasidae）的属级分类存在争议。先前一项对形态和发育特征的系统发育分析发现，钝缘蜱属（Ornithodoros）是并系群，并为先前属于蚁蜱属（Antricola）、锐缘蜱属（Argas）、钝缘蜱属（Ornithodoros）和伪锐缘蜱属（Nothoaspis）的物种建立了一个新属——卡里奥斯属（Carios）（克洛彭和奥利弗，1993年）。迄今为止，对软蜱的基因分析仅限于16S rRNA，而该基因在系统发育上对这一类群的信息含量不高。我们对7种软蜱的完整线粒体基因组以及另外5种软蜱的部分线粒体基因组进行了测序。我们利用这些序列来检验软蜱的属级分类。我们的分析有力地支持了新热带亚科（Ornithodorinae）内一个新热带物种分支（大多与蝙蝠相关）。这个分支，我们称之为新热带钝缘蜱亚科，包含来自蚁蜱属和伪锐缘蜱属的物种，以及钝缘蜱属的两个亚属——无扇缘蜱亚属（Alectorobius）和副缘蜱亚属（Subparmatus）。我们还探讨了钝缘蜱属的模式种——萨氏钝缘蜱（Ornithodoros savignyi）的系统发育位置。我们的分析有力地支持了一个由萨氏钝缘蜱和其他4种钝缘蜱组成的分支：巴西钝缘蜱（Or. brasiliensis）；莫氏钝缘蜱（Or. moubata）；猪钝缘蜱（Or. porcinus）；和喙钝缘蜱（Or. rostratus）。这个严格意义上的钝缘蜱属分支并不包含无扇缘蜱亚属和副缘蜱亚属物种，如丰塞卡钝缘蜱（Or. (Alectorobius) fonsecai）、开普钝缘蜱（Or. (Alectorobius) capensis）和马林凯莱钝缘蜱（Or. (Subparmatus) marinkellei），在传统分类方案中，这些物种被归为钝缘蜱属。我们对线粒体rRNA、核rRNA和线粒体基因组分析的比较表明，只有线粒体基因组序列有潜力解决主要软蜱谱系中存在争议的系统发育关系，比如克洛彭和奥利弗（1993年）所定义的卡里奥斯属的分类地位。
